Huskies hoops: Preseason ranking of the Pac-10

Things have changed around the conference. Oregon is a mess. Washington State had a large roster changeover because of defections. Oregon State is wondering where it is.

The season starts Saturday versus McNeese State. Pac-10 play for the Huskies begins Dec. 29 at USC.

Here’s a preseason ranking of the clubs in the Pac-10:

1. Washington.
Overview: Isaiah Thomas takes over this season, though he was an unofficial leader last season. Thomas and Justin Holiday are the co-captains of a team returning eight scholarship players, seven of which have appeared in the NCAA Tournament at least once.Biggest strength: Overall speed, experience, shooting. The last time Washington coach Lorenzo Romar had such a veteran group was 2005-06. The last time a group could shot so well was in 2004-05. Romar says this may be his best shooting team since he arrived at Washington.Biggest question: Post strength. Washington was too small and overpowered by West Virginia in the tournament last year. The departure of Tyreese Breshers means seven-foot junior college transfer Aziz N’Diaye will need to stay out of foul trouble to play at least 18 minutes a game. He wasn’t able to do that in the exhibition and the Huskies were outrebounded by Div. II St. Martin’s. Yikes.

2. Arizona
Overview: Versatile post player Derrick Williams is the anchor to the Wildcats. Coach Sean Miller stitched together a group that finished 16-15 last season. Enjoy Williams, a sophomore, this year, because it would not be a surprise for him to average a double-double and declare for the NBA. Arizona lost senior guard Nic Wise and brings in shooter Daniel Bejarano.Biggest strength: Versatility. Williams can play midrange and on the block. For better or worse, Jamelle Horne is a 6-foot-7 3-point shooter. MoMo Jones is a scoring point guard. Kevin Parrom is a tough player from the Bronx.Biggest concern: Post defense. Williams is a soft defender down low, which often leads him to being in foul trouble. Williams is also often Arizona’s largest defender. Its bench height, Alex Jacobson and Kyryl Natyazhko, bring severe offensive limitations. That leaves Horne as an advantage and disadvantage playing power forward.

3. UCLA
Overview: Gone are Michael Roll and Nikola Dragovic, both shooters who were slow and poor defenders. In is local big man Josh Smith. The Bruins played a lot of zone last season to make up for their overall defensive issues. That is not what coach Ben Howland has built his winners at Pittsburgh and UCLA on.Biggest strength: Post strength. Brutish Reeves Nelson, skilled Tyler Honeycutt and the mammoth Smith will give UCLA the best frontcourt in the conference.Biggest concern: Shooting. For all their defensive issues, Dragovic and Roll could shoot it. Starting point guard Malcolm Lee (25 percent from three) is among the many Bruins who cannot. The Bruins can expect a lot of zone this year.

4. Washington State
Overview: The Cougars come from a bizarre season and equally odd offseason. A 10-2 start prefaced conference play, but the Cougars stumbled to 6-12 in conference. Over the summer important players like Xavier Thames and James Watson left. Luckily for Washington State, Klay Thompson, Reggie Moore and DeAngelo Casto stayed.Biggest strength: Guard play. Even with the loss of Thames, Thompson and Moore are one of the top tandems in the conference. Despite his rapid backpedal from a staggering start, Thompson still averaged 19.6 points a game last year.Biggest concern: Maturity. Neither Moore nor Thompson reacted well when things were difficult last season. Casto was in foul trouble a lot. Can coach Ken Bone hold together what was obviously a fractured crew?

5. Arizona State
Overview: The biggest mystery from last year remains: How did this group win 22 games? Regardless of that answer, the Sun Devils return Ty Abbott, Rihards Kuksiks and Jamelle McMillan. Abbott evolved throughout last season and was named to the expansive All-Pac-10 first team. Abbott is just one of four returning players who were named the to the 10-man first team.Biggest strength: Guards. Abbott, McMillan and Trent Lockett provide veteran stability.Biggest concern: Interior. Kuksiks presents issues offensively when he is slid over to play the four, but he can’t defend any big man in the conference. The limited amount of big men the Sun Devils have are sophomores or freshmen.

6. USCOverview: The Trojans continue to move away from sanctions and try to build the basketball side of things. Coach Kevin O’Neill is in his second season, once again just trying to steady the ship. The Trojans lost five in a row to end last season 16-14.Biggest strength: Post play. Monster Nikola Vucevic (6-10, 240) and beefy Alex Stephenson (6-9, 235) will be banging away down low in a conference that does not have two other big men who can oppose these two on the block.Biggest concern: Depth. The rotation will be tight, predominantly seven players, and that’s a tough way to survive a conference season.

7. Oregon State
Overview: What is happening in Corvallis? High hopes from Craig Robinson’s first season have moved to more tempered tones following last season’s 14-18 slog. The Beavers never found a rhythm and now move forward with a key gap in the middle.Biggest strength: Guards and wings. Sophomore Jared Cunningham should make a move into the conversation about the conference’s best players. Calvin Haynes can be potent, but needs to play smarter in his senior season. Haynes shot just 40.4 percent from the field last year, forcing several bad shots throughout the season.Biggest concern: Rebounding. Only four players averaged more than three rebounds a game for the Beavers last season, and three of them left.
8. Stanford
Overview: Out is one of the Pac-10’s best players from last season, Landry Fields, as are several other seniors leaving Stanford with a freshman dominated roster. Nine freshmen, including Bellevue’s Aaron Bright, are on the Cardinal roster.Biggest strength: Green and Josh Owens should provide the Cardinal with another strong duo, the way Green and Fields challenged teams last season. However, Owens is not in the same class as Fields.Biggest concern: Supporting cast. The players around Owens and Green will be new or asked to do things they are likely not capable of. The Cardinal is a slow, unathletic team.

9. Cal
Overview: The triumvirate of Patrick Christopher, Theo Robertson and last year’s conference player of the year, Jerome Randle, is gone. Cal is shifting Jorge Gutierrez out of position and making him the starting point guard. Gutierrez is a quality player, notable for his defense. This is a move of desperation.Biggest strength: Freshmen. Guards Allan Crabbe (a shooter) and Gary Franklin (CIF Player of the Year) will likely start. Harper Kamp returns in the post to provide stability.Biggest concern: Too much use of freshmen. As skilled as Crabbe and Franklin are, they will get knocked around in Pac-10 play. For now, the Bears have nowhere else to turn with four starters gone from last season’s team.

10. Oregon
Overview: What a mess. Six departures, a coaching change, an investigation. Almost a universal pick to finish last in the conference.Biggest strength: That next year will come eventually.Biggest concern: Scoring. The Ducks will have to rely on E.J. Singler, Joevan Catron and lefty Malcolm Armstead, who tore up the Huskies when Oregon won in Hec Ed last season, to be starting points. After that, the offense has few options.